Space Exploration & Science Missions News

SpaceNews.com • Jeff Foust

Axiom Mission 4 Dragon Splashes Down, Wrapping First Private Indian, Polish and Hungarian ISS Visits

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission splashed down in the Pacific, returning NASA veteran Peggy Whitson alongside India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu after an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station.

2025-07-15T04:13:14.110031-07:00

m.economictimes.com

Axiom-4 Crew Dragon Undocks, Returns Shubhanshu Shukla After Completing Seven Microgravity Experiments

2025-07-13T21:01:44.457201-07:00

Space.com

Unexpected Internal Heat on Uranus Strengthens Case for Dedicated Orbiter Mission

2025-07-14T10:12:55.921495-07:00

Universe Today

China’s 2028 Tianwen-3 Mars Sample-Return Mission to Probe Subsurface Life

2025-07-14T03:25:25.468597-07:00

Space Exploration & Science Missions News Timeline

Ars Technica

NASA Rejects Paul Calle’s Peace Dove Patch for Apollo-Soyuz Mission Space artist Paul Calle proposed a peace dove–centric patch for the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, but NASA’s insignia committee rejected it, opting instead for a design showcasing the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft to emphasize technical partnership over abstract symbolism.

2025-07-15T08:12:30.569264-07:00

NASA Rejects Paul Calle’s Peace Dove Patch for Apollo-Soyuz Mission

Bloomberg

SpaceX eyes Starship as commercial in-orbit drug research platform SpaceX is developing a Starship-based program to conduct pharmaceutical research in microgravity, leveraging the rocket’s vast payload capacity for in-orbit drug discovery. The initiative could establish a new revenue stream for the company, expanding beyond launch services and satellite deployments.

2025-07-15T07:39:14.711546-07:00

SpaceX eyes Starship as commercial in-orbit drug research platform

Space.com

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Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Backs Artemis 4 and 5, Cuts NASA Science Funding President Trump’s omnibus “Big Beautiful Bill” earmarks nearly $10 billion to underwrite Artemis 4 and 5 moon landings after Artemis 3, while slashing funding for NASA’s science portfolio. The cuts threaten dozens of planetary and Earth-observation missions and underscore ongoing debate over exploration versus research priorities.

2025-07-15T07:02:07.467822-07:00

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Backs Artemis 4 and 5, Cuts NASA Science Funding

Space.com

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ locks in Artemis lunar funding while gutting NASA science President Trump’s omnibus ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ seeks to lock in funding for crewed lunar missions under Artemis but proposes deep cuts to NASA’s science portfolio. The FY26 budget would cancel dozens of planetary and Earth-observation projects, imperiling university-led research at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

2025-07-15T07:02:07.467822-07:00

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ locks in Artemis lunar funding while gutting NASA science

SpaceNews.com

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Axiom Mission 4 Dragon Splashes Down, Wrapping First Private Indian, Polish and Hungarian ISS Visits A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission splashed down in the Pacific, returning NASA veteran Peggy Whitson alongside India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu after an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station.

2025-07-15T04:13:14.110031-07:00

Axiom Mission 4 Dragon Splashes Down, Wrapping First Private Indian, Polish and Hungarian ISS Visits

Universe Today

Geopolymer Dome from Lunar Regolith Could Cover 17 m Crater for Radiation-Shielded Habitat A team proposes using a 3D printer to extrude lunar regolith-based geopolymer to construct a 17 m-diameter dome over an existing crater. The sintered structure would provide radiation protection and a pressurizable envelope, leveraging in-situ materials to reduce payload mass for permanent Moon bases.

2025-07-14T15:16:54.603644-07:00

Geopolymer Dome from Lunar Regolith Could Cover 17 m Crater for Radiation-Shielded Habitat

Space.com

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Unexpected Internal Heat on Uranus Strengthens Case for Dedicated Orbiter Mission Recent observations have detected higher-than-expected internal temperatures on Uranus, challenging prevailing models of the ice giant's thermal evolution. Researchers argue this unexpected warmth underscores the scientific value of a dedicated orbiter and probe, offering new opportunities to study Uranus’s interior structure, atmosphere and formation history.

2025-07-14T10:12:55.921495-07:00

Unexpected Internal Heat on Uranus Strengthens Case for Dedicated Orbiter Mission

Universe Today

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China’s 2028 Tianwen-3 Mars Sample-Return Mission to Probe Subsurface Life China plans to launch its Tianwen-3 mission in 2028 to drill two meters beneath Mars’s radiation-hardened surface, collect deep subsurface samples potentially containing ancient microbial life, and return them to Earth. The mission combines complex interplanetary rendezvous with rigorous planetary protection and quarantine protocols.

2025-07-14T03:25:25.468597-07:00

China’s 2028 Tianwen-3 Mars Sample-Return Mission to Probe Subsurface Life

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